Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“It’s clear that someone believes one of you has something important and that you’ve hidden it.”
“We all get that. The police have questioned us. They also seem to think that Detective Ramsey said something to us before he died. They’ve asked us over and over in a dozen different ways, but the only thing he said was to run, which we did. I felt guilty for leaving him facing a shooter when he was clearly wounded. I’m sure Westlake blames us for leaving him, and that’s why he’s so angry with us—especially me. I was the last one out the door.”
Gideon didn’t take his piercing gaze from her face. She was uncomfortable discussing the subject with him. She didn’t want to talk to him about Harvey and was purposely deflecting, shifting the subject to what the police might be considering. She wanted to keep her own counsel when it came to matters she decided were private, because she believed he would share them with his team.
“Did Harvey threaten you in any way?”
“No.”
Single word. Decisive. She was trying to shut down any further questioning.
“You passed on the message?”
She nodded. “And I deleted the message from my phone without telling him it was ever there. And told him no more messages through me.”
“Yet Scott Tinsdale was in the garage. If you told Harvey no more being his go-between, and he was going to listen, what business would Tinsdale have there? And you told me the man he was talking to had been in your bar.”
“I don’t know why Tinsdale was in the garage, and I don’t care. I told Harvey I wouldn’t deliver any more messages regardless of threats. I believe he understood.” She waved her hand as if the subject was closed.
“You do know Harvey is dangerous and can’t be trusted?” He wanted to make that perfectly clear.
“You do know Javier is dangerous and can’t be trusted? You’re dangerous and can’t be trusted. Most likely, everyone you know is dangerous and can’t be trusted,” she countered.
He’d walked into that one. There wasn’t one thing she’d said that wasn’t true from her perspective. He refused to take the bait and be offended.
“I see what you mean. You make a good point. The things I know about Harvey make me believe he isn’t a good person and could possibly want to harm you, but I’ve never spoken to him, and you have. You’re capable of hearing lies. He must have made you believe that he had no desire to hurt you.”
“I don’t altogether trust my ability to hear lies or truth.”
Gideon’s heart clenched hard. That was his fault. She’d believed him when he told her she was safe with him. He’d meant every single word. He’d believed it when he said it. It hadn’t occurred to him that he would have to give her up to protect Sebastian and Rose. Or Mack and Jaimie. Or the rest of his GhostWalker family.
He pressed his fingers to his temples. Sometimes his headaches were killers, and he could feel the beginnings of one pushing hard right behind his eyes.
“Gideon.”
That voice of hers. So soft and compassionate. He tried not to let it affect him. He tried not to hope. Maybe he should be the one to end their time together, but he knew he wouldn’t.
“You weren’t the one to make me distrust my abilities. I’ve been shaky for a little while now but have no idea why. The nightmares have been getting worse, and with them, my abilities to do certain things seem to come and go. Some gifts are sharper and other capabilities seem to be weaker.”
She was moving the subject far away from Harvey Matters, and he didn’t see how he was going to turn it back without getting her very upset. He would have to find a way to circle back around at another time.
“Are you still feeling that odd sensation with your skin?” He continued to press at his temples, reminiscent of the way she pressed against the spot above her left temple.
She moistened her lips and nodded slowly, as if she were reluctant to admit it to him. “Yes. I did think about what you’d told me. I even practiced saying that horrible man’s name over and over until I could do it without getting sick.”
Rory fell silent and Gideon didn’t ask for anything else. The fact that she at least had considered what he’d told her about her past instead of dismissing everything he’d said because she was so hurt by him made him admire her all the more. That was the other thing about Rory that got to him. She was sitting here with him even though he’d hurt her. Not just hurt her but truly shattered her. He’d felt the true depth of her devastation. She’d meant it when she’d said she didn’t want to see or hear from him again. Yet she’d been so worried about him, she’d reached out to ensure he wasn’t bleeding internally again. That was Rory. He needed that sweetness to balance him out.